There has been increasing desire to manufacture vehicles that meet or exceed environmental improvement requirements. However, there is a considerable loss of aerodynamic efficiency in vehicles, in particular, vehicles with higher ground clearances such as pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and other vehicles, due to the airflow into the underside of the vehicle.
Therefore, having parts with improved aerodynamics has become a well-received option typically effective toward helping to advance standards such as mileage requirements. There are also several other factors that must be considered including aerodynamic load, part weight, cost, ground clearance, complexity and durability.
Typical systems, such as fixed panels, or motorized deployable panels, do not meet requirements. Known systems do not have a proper sealed and clutchable actuator with communication capability and life cycle durability, capability for object detection, and are not durable and aerodynamically effective. Typical systems also do not have the ability to detect objects in the event there is an object or ground surface in the way during deployment or object/ground contact while deployed.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art to provide an automatically deployable structure under predetermined conditions that provides improved aerodynamics.